Yoga bench

ABSTRACT

A versatile exercise bench includes a padded support board secured to a tubular rectangular frame. A pair of sloped legs is affixed to longitudinal frame members to support the bench above a floor and to facilitate stacking unused benches for storage. The upper surfaces of the frame members include apertures for receiving upright portions of exercise handles which may be positioned to be easily grasped by a person performing an exercise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to devices for facilitating exercise and more particularly to an exercise bench suited for practicing various yoga postures.

2. Antecedents of the Invention

Health benefits are associated with both the exercise component and the meditative component of yoga, e.g., physical, mental, physiological, and psychological benefits. Muscle strengthening, stress reduction, accelerated recovery from injury and illness, weight loss and the reduction of psychological barriers have been attributed to practicing yoga poses and postures.

Yoga exercises increase the flexibility of various muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments, thereby reducing possible injury, joint wear, arthritic conditions and the necessity for pharmaceutical or surgical intervention.

There is a need, however, for easy to use equipment which simplifies +the practice of a variety of yoga poses and postures by both beginners as well as those with yoga experience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A bench for practicing various yoga poses and postures comprises an elevated padded board dimensioned to accommodate a supine or prone adult. The padded board is mounted within a tubular rectangular frame. The frame is positioned above and parallel to a floor by angled legs which are fixed to side members of the frame. The top surfaces of the side and end frame members include a plurality of spaced noncircular openings which are configured to receive a stem portion of an exercise grip. The grip can be employed as an auxiliary support while assuming various yoga postures.

From the foregoing compendium, it will be appreciated that an aspect of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which is not subject to the disadvantages of the aforementioned antecedents.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which facilitates the practice of yoga postures by both novices and experienced exercisers.

A feature of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described, the employment of which promotes an increase in flexibility of various muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments.

A consideration of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which may be employed in practicing a wide variety of yoga postures.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which eliminates the requirement for resting on a floor surface while practicing numerous yoga postures.

A further feature of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which is well suited for economical mass production fabrication.

Another consideration of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which is simple to use.

To provide a yoga bench of the general character described having an exercise handle which may be releasably secured to the bench is an additional aspect of the present invention.

Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described wherein a plurality of like yoga benches may be stacked to conserve storage space.

An additional aspect of the present invention is to of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described which obviates the need for employing a yoga mat.

Yet a further consideration of the present invention is to provide a yoga bench of the general character described wherein learning new yoga postures is simplified and facilitated.

Other aspects, features and considerations of the present invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

With these ends in view, the invention finds embodiment in various combinations of elements, arrangements of parts and series of steps by which the above-mentioned aspects, features and considerations and certain other aspects, features and considerations are attained, all with reference to the accompanying drawings and the scope of which will be more particularly pointed out and indicated in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, wherein one of the various possible exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a yoga bench constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention and showing a rectangular frame which supports a padded board and a grip which may be releasably secured at various points along the frame:

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the yoga bench and illustrating a user practicing a typical posture sometimes referred to as the cobra posture;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the yoga bench, similar to FIG. 2 , wherein the user is practicing a different posture, sometimes referred to as the bird dog posture;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the yoga bench, similar to FIG. 2 , wherein the user is practicing a different posture, sometimes referred to as the bridge posture;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the yoga bench, similar to FIG. 2 , wherein the user is practicing a different posture, sometimes referred to as the downward dog posture;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the yoga bench, similar to FIG. 2 , wherein the user is practicing a different posture, sometimes referred to as the warrior 3 posture;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the yoga bench, similar to FIG. 2 , wherein the user is practicing a different posture, sometimes referred to as the warrior 1 posture;

FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the yoga bench wherein the user is standing on a floor surface and is employing the grip to practice a further yoga posture sometimes referred to as the tree pose posture; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view showing a plurality of congruent yoga benches stacked in nested posture for storage or transport when not in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the illustrations which are provided as illustrative examples of the invention so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Notably, the figures and examples below are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment, but other embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements.

Moreover, where certain elements of the present invention can be partially or fully implemented using known components, only those portions of such known components that are necessary for an understanding of the present invention will be described, and detailed descriptions of other portions of such known components will be omitted so as not to obscure the invention.

Referring now to the illustrations wherein the reference numeral 10 denotes generally a yoga bench 10 constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention. The yoga bench 10 comprises a padded board 12 dimensioned to support an adult lying down, either prone or supine. The padded board 12 is secured to a rigid rectangular frame 14 formed of tubular material.

The frame 14 includes a pair of parallel side frame members 16, 18, and a pair of parallel end frame members, 20, 22. The frame members 16, 18, 20 and 22 are preferably square in transverse cross section.

The yoga bench 10 is supported above a floor surface 24 by downwardly diverging legs 26, 28 adjacent the end frame member 20, and downwardly diverging legs 30, 32, adjacent the end frame member 22. The legs 26, 30 as well as the legs 28, 32 may be joined by stringers 34, 36, respectively to form unitary leg assemblies each shaped as a truncated letter “A”. The leg assemblies are secured to the side frame members 16, 18 along the stringers 34, 36 respectively by conventional fastening means, e.g., mechanical fasteners, welding, etc.

In order to provide mobility to the yoga bench 10, the ends of the legs 30, 32 include brackets 38, 40 respectively to which casters 42, 44 are affixed. The yoga bench 10 may be easily moved from place to place by being lifted at the end frame member 20 such that the casters 42, 44 are in contact with the floor surface 24 and rolled to a desired position, e.g. for group yoga lessons or sessions.

In accordance with the invention, the upper surface of the frame members include a plurality of blind sockets 46 having non-circular, e.g., square, openings dimensioned to receive a stem 48 of a removable grip 50. The stem 48 is non-circular, e.g., square, in transverse cross section. In an exemplary manner, the grip 50 may be shaped generally with two parallel horizontal bars 52, 54 extending perpendicularly from the stem 48 and a vertical bar 56, which joins the ends of the horizontal bars 52, 54.

Use of the grip 50 is optional and is often dictated by the particular yoga pose one is practicing as well as the proficiency of the person practicing the pose. For example, the grip 50 is shown with its stem 48 seated in a selected socket 46 formed in the side rail 16 and with the horizontal bars 52,54, oriented parallel to the side rail 16 while practicing the yoga poses illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 7 . In the yoga postures of FIGS. 3 and 4 , for example, the grip 50 may provide stability by merely leaning one's leg, hip, knee or calf against the grip.

In FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 , one or both of the user's feet rest on and support the entire weight of the user. The grip 50 is shown with its stem 48 seated in a selected socket 46 formed in the side rail 18 and with the horizontal bars 52, 54 oriented parallel to one of the side rails. It should be appreciated that, for example, in practicing the yoga pose or posture of FIGS. 6-8 , the grip 50 may be positioned such that the horizontal bars extend in an orthogonal direction, perpendicular to and away from a side rail. It should be appreciated that a plurality of grips may be employed simultaneously depending upon the experience of the person and the difficulty of the particular posture.

There is illustrated in FIG. 9 an arrangement of congruent yoga benches 10 wherein each bench, absent its grip or grips, is nested over another bench. The stacking of yoga benches facilitates space conservation when not in use, such as when in storage, during transport, and prior to setting up a facility for group sessions.

By way of example only, the yoga bench 10 may be dimensioned such that the padded board 12 is approximately 6 feet long and 2⅓ feet wide. The legs are dimensioned such that the padded board 12 lies in a plane parallel to and approximately 1½ feet above the floor surface 24.

Thus it will be seen that there is provided a yoga bench which achieves the various aspects, features and considerations of the present invention and which is well suited to meet the conditions of practical usage.

The particular combinations of elements and features in the above-detailed embodiment are exemplary only; the interchanging and substitution of these teachings with other teachings in this application are also expressly contemplated. Variations, modifications, and other implementations of what is described herein can occur to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed.

Further, in describing the invention and in illustrating embodiments of the invention in the figures, specific terminology, numbers, dimensions, materials, etc., are used for the sake of clarity. However the invention is not limited to the specific terms, numbers, dimensions, materials, etc. so selected, and each specific term, number, dimension, material, etc., at least includes all technical and functional equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish similar purpose.

Use of a given word, phrase, number, dimension, material, language terminology, product brand, etc. is intended to include all grammatical, literal, scientific, technical, and functional equivalents. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not limitation.

Having described the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will now become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating the concept may be used. Moreover, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the embodiment of the invention described herein can be modified to accommodate and/or comply with changes and improvements in the applicable technology and standards referred to herein. 

Having thus described the invention, there is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent:
 1. A bench for practicing various yoga poses or postures comprising a board dimensioned to accommodate a supine or prone adult, the board being positioned within a rectangular frame, the bench having a plurality of legs positioning the frame above and parallel to a floor surface, the frame having a pair of parallel opposed side members and a pair of parallel opposed end members, at least one side member having a top surface, the top surface including a plurality of blind sockets configured for releasably accommodating an exercise grip.
 2. The bench for practicing various yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 1, wherein the plurality of legs includes a pair of downwardly diverging legs affixed to each side member, whereby a plurality of benches may be stacked in nested position when not in use.
 3. The bench for practicing various yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 1, wherein each pair of downwardly diverging legs includes a stringer joining the upper ends thereof, each stringer being affixed to one of the side members.
 4. The bench for practicing various yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 1, further including casters affixed to brackets at the distal ends of the legs adjacent one of the end member, whereby the bench may be transported by lifting the bench adjacent the other end member and rolling the casters over the floor surface.
 5. The bench for practicing various yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 1, further including at least one exercise grip, the exercise grip comprising a stem portion having a non-circular cross section, the blind sockets having a mating non-circular opening, the stem being positioned in one of the blind sockets selected for accommodating a user practicing a yoga pose or posture, whereby the exercise grip is fixed against rotation relative to the frame.
 6. The bench for practicing various yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 5, wherein the blind socket openings are square and the stem portion of the grip is square in transverse cross section.
 7. A yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures, the yoga bench comprising a padded board carried in a planar rectangular frame, the frame being supported above a floor surface by a plurality of legs, the frame including an upper surface having a plurality of sockets, the yoga bench further including at least one exercise grip, the exercise grip having a stem portion dimensioned to seat in one of the plurality of sockets formed in the frame and to project perpendicular to the plane of the frame, the exercise grip being engaged by a user for support or guidance during the practice of a yoga pose or posture.
 8. A method of practicing yoga poses or postures with the yoga bench in accordance with claim 7 including the step of supporting the user's body with only one foot resting on the floor surface and grasping the exercise grip by hand.
 9. A method of practicing yoga poses or postures with the yoga bench in accordance with claim 7 including the step of supporting the weight of the user's body by the board, the frame and the plurality of legs.
 10. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 7 wherein the frame includes a pair of parallel side frame members, the plurality of legs includes a pair of downwardly diverging legs affixed to each of the parallel side frame members, whereby a plurality of congruent benches may be stacked in a nested position when not in use.
 11. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 10 wherein each pair of downwardly diverging legs includes a stringer joining the upper ends thereof, each stringer being affixed to one of the parallel side frame members.
 12. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 10 further including casters affixed to brackets at the distal ends of the legs adjacent an end frame member, whereby the bench may be transported by lifting the bench adjacent another end frame member and rolling the casters over the floor surface.
 13. A yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures, the yoga bench comprising a rectangular frame, a plurality of legs supporting the frame above a floor surface, the frame carrying a padded board dimensioned to accommodate a supine or prone adult, a plurality of sockets positioned about the frame, at least one exercise grip, the exercise grip comprising a stem portion, the stem portion being releasably positioned in one of the sockets for accommodating a user practicing a yoga posture.
 14. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 13 wherein the stem portion is non-circular in cross section and the socket includes a mating non-circular opening.
 15. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 13 wherein the frame includes a pair of parallel side frame members, the plurality of legs includes a pair of downwardly diverging legs affixed to each of the parallel side frame members, whereby a plurality of congruent benches may be stacked in nested positions when not in use.
 16. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 13 further including casters affixed to brackets at the distal ends of the legs adjacent one end frame, whereby the bench may be transported by lifting the bench adjacent another end of the frame and rolling the casters over the floor surface.
 17. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 13 wherein the exercise grip includes a first transverse bar at a proximal end of the stem portion and a second transverse bar coplanar with and parallel to the first transverse bar, the transverse bars comprising hand grips.
 18. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 17 wherein the second transverse bar extends from the stem at a point beneath the first transverse bar.
 19. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 18 further including a third bar, the third bar extending parallel to the stem portion and joining the ends of the transverse bars, the third bar comprising a further hand grip.
 20. The yoga bench for assisting a user practicing a variety of yoga poses or postures in accordance with claim 14 wherein transverse cross section of the stem portion is square and the socket openings are square. 